


Heart beating heavily

by phalangine



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Corporate, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Getting Together, M/M, unless it's getting back together?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-09 15:26:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19478722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phalangine/pseuds/phalangine
Summary: Davos manages to keep pace with Stannis for two miles.“What are you doing?”If he could, Davos would laugh. The suspicion in Stannis’ voice is clear, and in this case, it’s warranted.





	Heart beating heavily

**Author's Note:**

> title edited from “bloody shirt” by to kill a king
> 
> eta: now de-anon because i’ve accepted that this is who i am now

If he’s honest, which Davos tries to be with himself, he can understand why Stannis has never made any of the lists of Westeros’ most eligible bachelors. Despite the fortune the Baratheons have, which even a second son’s portion of is hefty, Stannis simply isn’t easy to like. He doesn’t have Robert’s bawdy personality or Renly’s good looks. He certainly doesn’t have their charm. He’s an ascetic with a sense of humor so dry it's difficult to tell whether he's actually joking, and even the friendliest of fluff reporters can’t spin those as positives.

Along with his emotional distance, Stannis is physically distant.

Davos doesn’t mind it anymore because that’s just how Stannis is, but he’s known Stannis longer than not. Most of Stannis’ rough edges don’t catch on him anymore.

There are a few that do make Davos question some of his decisions, though…

The daily jog was Cersei’s idea. It was likely meant for Robert, an attempt at getting him out of her hair for a while, but she made a good case for it at a meeting, and Stannis had decided the sacrifice of an hour each morning in exchange for a keener mind was worth it.

The reason Davos got roped into it probably falls somewhere between the lure of the rare sight of Stannis not in a business suit and Shireen’s wide-eyed request that someone make sure her father doesn’t get hurt and die alone on the side of the road. Never mind they run on a track.

Stannis still might collapse on his own, Davos supposes. He enjoys the morning jogs far more than Davos does, and he regularly runs ahead of Davos, who’s usually desperately pulling on a water bottle full of coffee for as long as Stannis lets him.

Considering Stannis was consistently on rowing teams from high school through college and voluntarily took advanced Latin, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that he’d decide taking up something as torturous as running at the crack of dawn would be a good use of his time.

And that Davos should join him.

There are a few benefits to running, though. Davos can now power walk fast enough to make a few of the reps from rival companies work to keep up when they’re wasting his time. Matthos has stopped bringing up Davos’ blood pressure at every opportunity.

And Davos does get the private reward of seeing Stannis in running shorts.

As if summoned, Stannis reappears, apparently tired of keeping his own company.

That’s the funny thing about him, Davos has discovered. Stannis is by far the least approachable of the brothers- of people in general- yet he’s the most dogged in his relationships. Robert and Renly would have tired of Davos years ago; the novelty of having an advisor who specializes in the best ways to break and skirt the law would have worn off, and they would have moved on.

Renly has been consistent with Loras for more than a year, but the two of them get along well. If their relationship looked like Stannis’ marriage to Selyse, Davos isn’t sure they’d stay together.

Stannis still enjoys calling Davos his onion knight, and he bends- sometimes- when Davos speaks. It isn’t novelty he’s interested in. He thinks highly of Davos for Davos’ own accomplishments, such as they are, so he continues to seek Davos out.

There aren’t many men on a corporate level with Stannis who have a sense of loyalty like that.

For all his other faults, Stannis does do his duty, and he does it without cutting corners.

It would be easier if that were all Davos thought of him. An admirable man with nice legs and a very nice backside. A boss Davos respects and wouldn’t mind, in another life, taking to bed. More than wouldn’t mind, maybe.

“You’re dragging your feet.”

Davos tries not to laugh. “Some of us just weren’t made for running, sir.”

“You’re human, Davos.” Stannis’ tone is impatient, but it’s only his usual impatience. “Running is exactly what we were made for.”

“Not when we’re lucky.”

Correcting Stannis is a bit of a gamble, especially in jest.

The run must have put him in a good mood; Stannis shakes his head, the small curl of his lips signaling Davos won’t be scolded.

“If I were lucky, I would be done negotiating with the Greyjoys so I could concentrate solely on the Tyrells,” Stannis mutters, amusement dissipating. “Should I stop running and see if that makes them less antagonistic?”

It’s impossible to tell if Stannis is kidding. He has a dry humor that even after the better part of two decades, Davos hasn’t been able to catch reliably.

Erring on the side of answering genuinely, Davos replies, “I doubt any force on the planet could do that. You may find them less abrasive if you point them at the Boltons, though.”

Stannis frowns. “Theon.”

“His sister does hold grudges,” Davos agrees. “Give her a little leverage on Bolton and she’ll let you be for a while. It might even earn you some good will.”

“That sounds like a Stark plan.”

“You do have me working with a man who was raised by Ned Stark.”

It could be wishful thinking, but Davos could swear he sees the ghost of a smile on Stannis’ face.

xx

“You’re still mooning over him, aren’t you?”

Davos ignores the jab. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Baratheon.”

Cersei gives him a poisonous look. “I’m not sure how a person falls in love with stone, but you’re full of miracles, Shortfinger. Shame Stannis can’t reciprocate.”

The needling doesn’t bother him. The pettiness of Cersei asking if Davos has a crush on Stannis belongs in a room of twelve-year-olds. Even the Shortfinger moniker fails to annoy him. Cersei just wants to get a rise out of him, and Davos isn’t in the mood to indulge her.

If she’d come by at the end of the day, when Davos has been juggling the petty feuds of at least five company presidents, that might not have been the case.

“I take it your husband is being indiscreet again.”

Cersei’s eyes narrow. “He is, which is how I heard Selyse is returning.”

Davos’ jaw clenches, mood souring.

“Do tell her I said hello,” Cersei purrs. “We haven’t spent nearly enough time together. She is the wife of my husband’s brother; we’re practically sisters. And her daughter is my niece. I haven’t seen nearly enough of Shireen since Stannis whisked her away.”

The smile she gives Davos makes his gut clench, and Stannis’ stern order over lunch for Davos to eat something doesn’t make it unclench.

xx

It isn’t difficult to see why people thought Stannis and Selyse would be a good match, Davos thinks as he watches them talk through the glass walls of Stannis’ office.

Neither of them is beautiful. They’re both more intense than the people around them, and that’s as a baseline. Yet they’re also more self-contained than most. Colder. Less able to engage casually.

Neither has many friends, and it isn’t difficult to see why.

“Is that Selyse?” a voice asks next to Stannis.

Jon Snow isn’t quite a Stark man or a Baratheon man. He works for himself, though he does tend to freelance for both companies more than any other.

He’s also one of the few people Stannis listens to.

Davos nods. “It is.”

“She looks good. Better than before she left.” Jon is doing nothing to disguise his pot-stirring, and Davos is almost grateful. “Maybe Melisandre was right.”

“About setting things on fire?”

“About being happier under the light of the sun- and away from Robert.”

“You do realize he’s your employer, right?”

“Nominally. We both know Stannis signs the checks, and Melisandre almost got him to run away with her, too.”

Davos rolls his eyes. “Don’t let Stannis hear that.”

“Cheer up, Davos,” Jon advises, clapping Davos on the shoulder amicably. “It can’t be as bad as Stannis finding out you were seriously thinking about leaving to work for me.”

Mouth opening- to say what, Davos doesn’t know, but knowing Jon, it wouldn’t help- Davos is interrupted by the door to Stannis’ office swinging open.

Selyse steps out, and Davos can admit Jon is right. She does look better. Not quite happy, but close. The corners of her mouth aren’t downturned so steeply. Her forehead isn’t furrowed like it used to be.

When she spots Davos, she inclines her head.

Too confused by the changes in her to think twice, Davos returns the gesture as she slips through the room and out the door.

Selyse has barely disappeared from view before Davos hears Jon mutter, “Here comes trouble.”

“Davos!” Stannis snaps, half out of his office. “Where’s the Tyrell report?”

Jon slips a folder into Davos’ hand under the desk.

“Right here, sir,” Davos calls, praying Jon handed him the right papers. “Are you ready to be briefed?”

“I was ready last week, when it was due.”

With that, Stannis disappears.

“Good luck,” Jon says, clapping Davos on the shoulder. “Something tells me he’s going to be in a mood, even for Stannis.”

As he gets to his feet, Davos can’t help but wish he’d taken Jon up on the offer to join him.

xx

The trouble is, Davos has never been good at giving up, least of all when he’s gotten a taste of what he wants.

He can still feel Stannis’ fingers digging into his thighs if he concentrates hard enough. He can hear Stannis’ ragged breaths. He can taste the sweat on Stannis’ skin when Davos kissed his neck. He can see Stannis yanking off his shirt, and he can see Stannis pushing Davos’ shirt up his body. He can smell Stannis’ sheets, freshly laundered.

Worst of all, he can see Stannis the moment before he came, determined and pained and fixated entirely on Davos.

Davos bites his cheek and tries to push the memories away as he sets up his presentation.

He got more than he should have, and now he’s paying the price for it. Stannis is still his boss, and Stannis is still bound to Selyse. He wouldn’t shirk what he owes her just to indulge Davos, much less when Stannis hadn’t even managed to stomach spending the night with Davos.

When Marya left him, Davos knew why. He doesn’t know what could have made Stannis that night except regret, but even that isn’t certain. Stannis won’t acknowledge they’ve been anything more than boss and loyal employee.

It’s a boot in the gut, waking up alone after going to bed with someone you’ve loved for more than half your life.

Not enough to dislodge Davos’ misplaced affection, but enough to hurt.

xx

“So, how’s Mrs. Stannis?”

Davos watches Stannis visibly grind his teeth.

It’s been a bad meeting. Robert and Renly arrived unexpectedly- to Stannis. Davos isn’t surprised. Cersei never fails to send Stannis’ brothers over when he’s wrong-footed, and Selyse never fails to do that.

Which Cersei knows.

As do Robert and Renly.

“Well?” Robert presses. “How is my dear sister-in-law?”

“If we could just finish this portion of the report,” Davos interrupts. “If we get through this final section, we could be done with the Tyrells-”

Reply speaks over him. “It’s a simple question, Stannis.”

Before the brothers showed up, Davos had almost gotten Stannis’ mood to shift out of grim to grim but willing to listen.

All his work has been undone. It came undone the moment the elevator doors opened and Robert came barreling out.

It’s almost impressive, in a perverse way.

Stannis gives them an even glare. “Selyse is fine.”

Davos winces. The words are right, but Stannis’ voice is too rough.

It’s blood in the water, and they all know it.

Today has been a long day, and Davos, despite his better instincts and his ex-wife’s continued attempts to get him to find happiness somewhere else, doesn’t want to watch Stannis get ripped apart by his brothers.

Under the table, he sends a quick text to Jon.

Robert hasn’t managed to stop grinning, no doubt thinking Stannis is cornered prey, when the air conditioning goes from chilly to a frigid blast- and accompanied by a smell that makes Davos’ gut threaten to rebel.

“Gods, Stannis! Does your office not even have working air conditioning?”

Robert lurches to his feet, Renly barely half a heartbeat behind.

Davos bites his cheek and studiously breathes through his mouth as he looks over the last section of the report as Stannis walks his brothers out.

The door clicks shut when Stannis returns.

“That was underhanded.”

“Effective, though.”

Stannis’ forehead wrinkles. “I’m capable of handling my brothers.”

“I don’t doubt that, sir.”

Davos swallows at the sharp look Stannis gives him.

Neither breaks the silence for so long, Davos starts to wonder if they ever will.

At last, Stannis speaks. “Tell Snow that whatever he did to my air conditioner, I want it fixed in ten minutes or I’ll start docking his pay.”

Nodding, Davos texts Jon his thanks and advises him to get Sam to fix whatever Jon did as quickly as possible.

He pretends not to see the reply Jon sends.

_The smell isn’t good for getting the boos in the mood?_

“Would you like to hear the rest of the report?” Davos asks, setting his phone aside.

Stannis, who’d returned to his seat and picked up the report, nods. “Continue.”

xx

Shireen has her mother’s soft features and quiet voice, but when she’s ready to argue, there’s as much iron in her belly as in Stannis’.

Usually Davos is glad to see it.

“Davos, please.”

“Your father already said no.”

“It’s just a little trip!”

“No, it’s three teenagers in kayaks, none of whom has ever been in a kayak, in a river with no supervision.” Davos puts his hands on his hips, knowing he looks like his ex-wife when one of the boys got into trouble, and deciding he doesn’t care. “Even if it weren’t, you got your answer already. Don’t come to me just because you think you’ll get a better one.”

She did pick well; he’ll grant her that.

If it were up to Davos, he’d let Shireen go- with a few tweaks to the plan. But Shireen is Stannis’ only child; he hasn’t learned that children get into trouble no matter how well-behaved they are. The point isn’t to hide them from the world; it’s to catch them when they fall.

Stannis is also worried about Shireen’s illness, though, which Davos has never had to do with any of his kids. They don’t know enough about what could inflame the rare disease that nearly killed Shireen when she was barely old enough to walk. Davos remembers the desperate, wrathful man who took Stannis’ place in the time it took to find a remedy, imperfect as it is. She’s been preserved in his mind as a tiny, deathly ill child with scales down the side of her face where she’d pressed it to Stannis’ infected gift.

He couldn’t have known the doll had been repurposed, but Stannis has buried more of his children than he’s seen grow. Shireen is the only one who survived; losing her would hurt him more than any maneuvering could hope to do.

“It’s just a little trip,” Shireen presses. “Please, Davos. I never get invited on trips.”

Stannis is a man; Shireen is a child. He's going to have to learn to swallow his fears or she'll hate him.

“What makes you so sure I can persuade him to change his mind?” Davos asks.

“He listens to you. And to Mr. Snow,” Shireen adds. “But he doesn’t like Mr. Snow as much as he likes you, so you’d have a better chance of getting him to listen.”

Davos sighs. He loves Shireen. He’s known her for as long as she's lived, and if he could, he’d tell Stannis to remember it isn’t Shireen’s business to keep her father from fearing for her. She’s a smart, sweet girl. The protections she needs aren't from her own impulses; she doesn’t need to be reined in. She needs her father to help her step out.

But it isn’t Davos’ place.

Shireen looks at him with wide, hopeful eyes.

Davos is getting too old to be parenting teenagers.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

He tries to memorize the smile Shireen gives him as she pulls him into a hug; it’s all he’ll have to lean on when he faces Stannis.

xx

Davos manages to keep pace with Stannis for two miles.

“What are you doing?”

If he could, Davos would laugh. The suspicion in Stannis’ voice is clear, and in this case, it’s warranted.

“You keep telling me to stop drinking coffee and wandering around the track,” Davos tells him, “so this is me, not drinking coffee and wandering around the track.”

“Shireen spoke to you,” Stannis guesses.

“She did.”

There’s no sense in lying. Shireen has been looking to Davos to soften Stannis for years, since long before Davos realized that was something that could be done. Stannis would be a fool to think she wouldn’t have gone to Davos this time.

“You agree with her, then. You think I’m being too hard on her.”

“I think you’re her father, so it's your job to set limits,” Davos counters. “But yes, she is a teenager, and she wants to have fun with her friends, as any teenager would. She won't be happier on her own if you force her to be.”

Stannis frowns at him, which isn’t a deterrent when Davos knows it’s just Stannis’ thinking expression.

“I think it’s harder to let her out of your sight because she’s such a good child,” Davos continues. “She makes friends with oddballs, and you know she would be an easy target for someone with dangerous intentions. They won't all be harmlessly odd like Patches.”

“She’ll get hurt,” Stannis says quietly.

There are rumors about all of Westeros’ company and division heads. Stannis’ rumors center around the idea that he’s unfeeling.

If the gossip mill could see him now.

Davos looks at Stannis evenly. “Eventually, yes. As we all do. Better she learn to overcome it now, when she has her father to lean on, than when she’s on her own, don’t you think?”

Stannis’ eyes narrow, and for a moment, Davos fears he’s accidentally said too much.

Then Stannis nods. “You’ll ensure she knows how to use a kayak properly before she goes,” he says crisply, “with the understanding that if she isn’t competent to your standards, she won’t be allowed to go. And you’ll provide her with a phone she can use if anything happens. The campgrounds have unreliable cell phone service.”

“I will.”

Stannis nods sharply. “Then you may go back to your coffee and wandering.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Davos also goes back to watching Stannis’ ass and trying not to think about how it would feel in his hands if he actually had time to enjoy it, but Stannis doesn’t have to know about that.

xx

If Shireen thought Davos would go easy on her because she’s Stannis’ daughter, she’s mistaken.

“We aren’t going whitewater rafting,” she whines after Davos has tipped her into the water a fifth time. “It’s barely even a creek.”

“That’s good, because your father never would have agreed to whitewater rafting.”

She mumbles something under her breath, and despite his better instincts, Davos asks, “What was that?”

“I said, ‘He’s barely letting me do this.’” Shireen looks away. “He says he isn’t embarrassed by me, but he won’t let me do anything where anybody sees me.”

“Because he’s worried about you,” Davos corrects gently. “He doesn’t know how to be embarrassed. But he does know how to worry. Your mother isn’t here to help look after you; it’s just him. He knows he isn’t good at fathering.”

“But it isn’t just him, Davos. He’s got you.”

Davos swallows. “I’m not your father, Shireen,” he reminds her. He tries to be kind; he doesn’t want to hurt her. He just needs her to remember he has no claim to that place in her life. “I’m just a nosy man with too many children to keep myself to myself.”

“Even though people call you Mr. Baratheon behind your back?”

“They what?” Davos asks, stomach dropping.

Shireen shrugs. “People keep saying Father may as well marry you since he’s done with Mother, and Father doesn’t tell them to stop.”

“One last time out,” Davos says rather than guess at Stannis’ thoughts. “Show me you can handle tipping over one more time, and I’ll tell your father you’re ready.”

She gives him a look that says she knows what he’s doing, but the lure of going home is stronger than her urge to push him.

Davos can only hope that continues to be the case.

xx

Davos holds the bag out to Stannis. It’s the end of the day, and they’re the only ones left in the office.

“What is this?” Stannis asks, accepting it before Davos explains.

“A sat phone,” Davos replies. “It’s all set up, complete with our cell phone numbers in the contacts, and I put it in a resealable plastic bag.” Reaching into his pocket, Davos pulls out the sheet of paper he ripped from Jon’s notebook when Jon and his friend were trying to fix another malfunction with the air conditioner. “I thought you might want to have the number for Shireen’s phone, just in case.”

“I see.”

Stannis accepts the paper, then places it deliberately into the folder of work he takes home.

This particular pile is taller than usual. Whether that’s just how it worked out or if Stannis is hoping for a distraction while Shireen is away is anyone’s guess.

“I’ll see you Monday, then, sir,” Davos tells him.

Stannis looks up at him, eyes searching, and Davos freezes.

The look Stannis gave him the night they slept together wasn’t much different from this one, and Davos’ heart begins to beat faster.

“You take good care of her.”

“Sorry?”

“My daughter. You care for her well.”

Davos tries not to feel disappointed. It was unrealistic to think Stannis might, after over a year, decide he does want Davos and the best way to go about getting him would be to grab him at work.

“She makes it easy,” Davos rasps. “After all my boys, it’s nice to talk with a child who doesn’t needle me about every little thing.” He shakes his head, fond despite what his complaining. He hasn’t seen his sons in too long. “Devan thinks the onion logo of our subdivision looks too much like Tor, so we should replace it with tridents or some such thing, and he won’t let it drop.”

Stannis’ eyes narrow. “Do I want to know about Tor?”

“Possibly, but not today.”

It’s a cruelty of the universe that Davos most wants to kiss Stannis when Stannis is like this, slightly prickly but never looking away from Davos.

“You’ll tell me on Monday.”

Another cruelty is that with every order, Davos is reminded of how pushy Stannis was in bed and how much Davos liked it.

“I will. Goodnight, sir.”

“Goodnight, Davos.”

Perhaps, Davos thinks, he should let Jon talk him into going out for a night or two. Company might take the edge off things.

xx

He gets the call at 2:46. Davos has only had a series of sips from other people’s drinks, most of which have come from the drag queen perched on Davos’ lap, the sequins on the neckline of her dress catching the low light and drawing his gaze down to the short hemline of her dress.

They’re probably about the same age, but his companion is far livelier than Davos. Somehow, that doesn’t seem to be problem- if anything, he keeps making Tex laugh every time he tells Jon off for trying to embarrass him.

It’s been a good night. He and the others only meant to get drinks, but there was a surprise show, and somehow Davos caught the eye of one of the queens.

Now he’s got company he doesn’t have to go to work with tomorrow.

If he hadn’t set his phone to vibrate a certain way for one number in particular, Davos would have gladly ignored it and continued letting Denali pretend there isn’t anywhere to sit other than Davos’ lap.

But he did set one, and he does fumble for his phone.

He’s helped by Denali, who shifts back enough for him to reach his phone and, after a moment of peering at Davos’ face, slides off his lap entirely.

Davos tries to signal an apology as he stands up and gets a promising wink.

Outside, it’s hot and humid, but Davos’ attention is on the voice on his phone.

“Shireen? What’s wrong?”

He can’t understand her- it sounds like she’s crying and whispering and hiccuping all at once.

None of his boys needed to be brought home early from sleepovers, but he heard enough kids who did to recognize the sound.

“Do you want me to come get you?”

He just manages to make out a “please”.

“I’ll be right there. Just tell me where you are.”

She tells him as Davos heads back into the club to tell Jon he’s heading out early.

“Stannis?” Jon asks with a knowing look.

Davos shakes his head. “I doubt I’ll be back before you leave.”

Jon sighs but waves him on.

Denali hasn’t moved, and Davos feels a pang of loss for the night he could have had. He isn’t Shireen’s father. This is Stannis’ job. Davos should be free to go where Denali wants him to go and have a good, sleepless night where he isn’t lonely.

“Another time?” Denali asks.

“I should be so lucky,” Davos replies, and he gets a friendly kiss on the cheek for it.

“You should come back next Saturday. I’ll be dancing again.”

That’s more than Davos has gotten in a long time, and all he can do at first is nod.

Then he remembers Shireen and gets moving.

When he reaches his car, he realizes he didn’t hang up. Shireen is still on the other end, and she’s sounding less garbled.

“I’m going to put you on speakerphone, all right?” Davos asks. “If I get pulled over, it’ll take me longer to get to you.”

“Yes, Davos.”

She sounds more miserable than Davos can remember ever hearing her, and his chest aches as he guides his car out of the parking lot.

It isn’t her fault Stannis is an uncomfortable parent.

“Did I ever tell you about the time Matthos almost hit your father with a stapler when he was an intern?” Davos asks.

Shireen sniffs. “No?”

“It all started how you’d expect- with your Aunt Cersei.”

xx

Shireen is sitting on the ground at the entrance to the campgrounds when Davos pulls in. Her arms are around her knees, and when he gets close enough to see, her face is red and blotchy from crying.

He holds out his hand, and she heaves herself up, sliding the sat phone into her sweatshirt’s kangaroo pocket as she does, and trots miserably over to him, her wet fingers closing around his.

“I didn’t bring the kayak back,” she admits as he leads her back. “I don’t know if the others will.”

 _She’s going to turn into Stannis at this rate,_ Davos thinks. “We’ll take care of it.”

“But-”

“You have one job right now, Shireen, and that is getting home. Let your father and me worry about the rest.”

She nods, and when Davos opens the door to the backseat, she gets in without arguing.

He fishes a blanket out from the way back. He doesn’t remember where he got it, probably one mandatory company picnic or another. It’s soft from use, much of it with Davos’ sons.

The company logo is blown up large in the center, the black stag on yellow field familiar from hundreds of documents. The crown around its neck always reminds of Davos of Stannis, the weight and unnatural placement surely choking it. Yet the stag is standing on one hind leg, its front hooves in the air, the crown’s own weight driving it down further.

Davos doesn’t mention any of this to Shireen as he lays the blanket over her.

She curls up under it and draws a deep, shaking breath, the tears stopped at least for a time.

She’s asleep by the time he turns the car on and drives the thirty-second stretch to the end of the road.

He can guess what happened. Not the details, but the shape of things- Shireen went in thinking she’d have fun, as did the others. Their ideas of fun diverged at some point, and Shireen was the one whose fun got overruled.

Considering how far she’s tried to pull her hood down, Davos can guess the scarring on her face was involved.

He considers calling Stannis. It would give the man a heads up- some time to get his anger under control before Shireen returns and misconstrues outrage on her behalf for disappointment in her.

Casting a look into the rear-view mirror, Davos decides against it. What Shireen decides to tell Stannis, if anything, is up to her.

It’s a nearly hour-long drive from the campgrounds to Shireen’s home.

They’ve made it almost the entire way there when Shireen sits up.

“I’m sorry.”

Davos shakes his head. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But I pushed Father to let me go, and you had to come get me-”

“You’re a teenager,” Davos interrupts. “You’re supposed to push. That’s how you learn what you can tolerate from us and what’s important enough to insist on. You thought it would be fun, and it should have been. When it wasn’t, you called, and I got you. That’s my job.”

She doesn’t believe him; he can see it in the way she’s clutching the blanket.

_She really is a miniature of her father sometimes._

“You know I have sons,” he reminds her. “I believe you’ve even met a few of them.”

Shireen nods.

“They’re all good boys, and I love them, but they’ve got their father’s nose for trouble.” He flashes her a smile in the rear-view mirror. She doesn’t return it, but she doesn’t look away either. “I’ve lost count of all the midnight trips to the emergency room we had to take because one of them tried to jump out a window or kicked a cinder block and broke his foot. I wasn’t fond of it, but I love them, and it’s my job to keep them safe, even if they do insist on kicking things they shouldn’t. So I took them to the hospital and I brought them home and I watched their mother scold them as she put them to bed.” Davos pauses, thinking back. “You remember Marya, don’t you?”

Shireen nods again.

“Good, because she’s very fond of you, and if I weren’t getting you and your father weren’t getting you, she would be.” A little of the unhappiness leaves her face, if only to make room for confusion. “It’s easy to care about you. Marya decided you’re one of hers the moment she met you. And if Matthos can’t be disowned for nearly decapitating your father, you won’t be for having a bad time and wanting to go home.”

“Do you think Father will think that way?”

Davos runs a hand over his face. “I don't know what your father will think.”

Shireen shrinks deeper into the seat, and Davos curses internally.

“Your father is complicated, Shireen, but he does love you.”

There are times Davos hates Robert Baratheon, despite the man really only being a cad. Some of it is for Stannis, who wouldn’t have any use for Davos’ anger at his dick of an older brother, but most of it is for Shireen, who has to grow up in the shadow of Stannis’ awkwardness.

As Davos watches Shireen bite her lip, he feels that hatred flare up. “I’ll talk to him, explain what happened.”

“Okay.”

She says that, but Davos has known her- and her father- for too long to be fooled by Baratheon lies. He can differentiate between “okay I trust you” and “okay do what you want while I torment myself”.

Resisting the urge to hit his head on the steering wheel- somewhere in the jumble of parenting, Selyse’s flaws made their way into Shireen as well, without enough of Selyse’s fervor to offset them- he makes looks into the mirror until he catches Shireen’s eye.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, Miss Baratheon,” he tells her, “but you’re still a good kid. You’ll have to try harder if you want to be a disappointment.” He pauses, pretending to- think. “You could be like your cousin Joffrey, I suppose. He’s a mean little bastard, isn’t he?”

Shireen snorts, but there’s a laugh somewhere in it. “How did you find trouble, Davos? If your sons are like you?”

Finally, a way out. “Which time? I’ve found a lot of trouble.”

“The first one.” There's color returning to her cheeks, and Davos lets himself relax.

“Oh, that was a good one. I ran away from home and joined some smugglers. Pirates were easier to find back then.”

He glances into the mirror again and sees her watching him with narrowed eyes.

She inherited a healthy dose of her father’s skepticism, too, but without any of Stannis’ protective shell.

“What about the second one?” she asks.

Davos swallows a sigh. His gambit didn’t work; he’d hoped to distract her with a tale or two of daring thievery.

If it gets her to stop beating herself up, though…

“My second major encounter with trouble wasn’t nearly as interesting,” he says. “I brought food to a corporate type who was actually trying to do some good, and he was such a pigheaded pain in the ass to the companies he was holding out against, somehow without eating- and gave me a such a generous reward for helping him- I gave up smuggling to work for him permanently.”

They’ve reached the part of the journey where Davos has to pay attention to the narrow roads, but he can feel Shireen thinking.

“That was Father, wasn’t it?”

“It was.”

“Was he different back then? Were he and Mother-” She cuts herself off, but Davos knows what she was going to ask.

“They were never in love, no,” Davos says. “But they’ve never hated each other. Your mother's found a life that makes her happy now, and your father has work he’s proud of. And they both love you.”

“Is that why they’re getting divorced? Because Mother is happy now and it isn’t with him?”

Davos has been half-expecting this question for a long time. Stannis and Selyse got married out of a sense of duty. Neither has any particular love for the other. A mutual understanding, perhaps. An acknowledgement they were both pawns in a larger game. But not love. Nothing to soften their hard edges.

He didn’t think Stannis would actually go through with a divorce, though. He’s so set on doing his duty, Davos had been certain he’d never accept that his marriage is one he can’t meet.

“I don’t know why they’re divorcing,” Davos admits. “I do know the way things are now isn’t working, though, and that your parents want to find something that does.”

“Okay,” Shireen says, and this time, she’s trusting him.

xx

Stannis opens the door after the second press of the doorbell. He’s still dressed like he was at work, save the absence of his tie and blazer. He looks rumpled as well- for Stannis, anyway. His shirt isn’t tucked in all the way around, and the top button of his button up is undone.

“What happened?” are the first words out of his mouth.

Shireen, still wrapped in Davos’ blanket, looks to Davos. The worry is clear on her face.

“Hello, Father. Sorry to disturb you.”

“Will you let Shireen in so she can go to bed?” Davos asks. “She’s had a long night.”

Stannis frowns but steps aside.

Shireen ducks past.

Rather than return to his original position, Stannis gestures for Davos to come inside as well.

Davos has been here before, on occasion, but it continues to strike him how empty it is. The house is minimal to the point of looking uninhabited. Stannis doesn’t tolerate clutter or mess, which leaves the home with the same unpleasant stuffiness of a house for sale.

It hurts when Davos thinks about Shireen growing up here.

It hurts when he thinks about Stannis learning to think this is the way he has to exist.

“Well?” Stannis asks.

They’re barely a foot into the house.

“She had a bad time,” Davos explains, “so she asked me to come get her.”

“I could have guessed that much.”

“Then I'm sure you can guess the rest.”

Davos regrets snapping the moment he raises his voice, but he’s exhausted. He’s exhausted by the Tyrells. And the Greyjoys. And the Lannisters. And the Starks.

And the Baratheons.

He’s tired of their endless bickering and the happiness it costs him to manage them.

He wanted to have a good night with someone who wasn’t going to run away and pretend nothing happened. He was all set to be free of Stannis for a night, and he was excited about it. One night without Stannis at the front of his thoughts, without being hounded by the knowledge that Stannis regards him as a mistake. It was all lined up, and Davos put it aside because he can't help but come when Baratheons call.

Instead of a few hours of respite, he’s standing in Stannis’ house- barely- after carting Stannis’ daughter home because her father can’t figure out how to be kind to her.

Before Davos can think of a way to get Stannis’ attention off Davos’ tone, Stannis squints at him and tilts his head. “Is that lipstick?”

Davos doesn’t recognize this particular tone, and he doesn’t like it.

“If you’re talking about my cheek, then yes, it is.”

Stannis is shorter than he is, if only by a knuckle, which makes looking down at him easier.

“I meant your neck.”

Belatedly, Davos remembers Denali kissing his neck at one point.

“That probably is, too, yeah.”

For a long moment, Stannis just stares at Davos. Then he adds, “I take it the glitter is from the same place as well.”

“Considering the amount of it that was going around and the fact that I only went to one bar before I left to get your daughter, that does seem likely.”

Stannis’ jaw clenches. “I see.”

“What does that mea-”

“Thank you for bringing Shireen home. She won't bother you during your time off again.”

It’s disconcerting, being on the cold end of Stannis’ temper. Davos had been provoking him, trying to get a rise, but Stannis would never let him have the satisfaction of an actual argument.

“I never said-”

“You said enough.” Stannis lifts his chin, and now Davos is the small one. “Goodnight, Mr. Seaworth.”

There’s nothing to be done when Stannis digs his heels in, so Davos ducks his head and walks out.

If he slaps a hand to the steering wheel before he turns the engine on, then that’s between him and his car.

xx

Monday sees Stannis in a foul mood.

He doesn’t go for a run, and he doesn’t summon Davos for a morning report.

He does snap at Jon and nearly makes Sam quit, though.

Cersei visits unannounced, but she doesn’t linger after Stannis joins her in his office. The look on her face is unsettled beyond the usual discontent that comes with her visits to Stannis.

Things continue like this until after the end of the Thursday workday.

Davos had been on his way out, but he’d realized he forgot a folder on his desk. Normally he’d leave it for the next day, but Stannis has been dressing everyone down for every infraction. Davos got two today alone; he isn’t eager to start tomorrow off with one.

His desk is right next to Stannis’ office, so he can’t help but see Selyse standing in it.

The door is open, so he can’t help but hear her talking to Stannis either.

“-wish you’d stop,” she’s saying.

“Stop what?”

“This.” Another person might have shouted, but Selyse has never been the type. “You’re taking your anger out on the people around you, Stannis.”

“I’m keeping them on task.”

“No, you’re punishing them because you made a mistake and won’t let Davos move on.”

“Don’t,” Stannis grits.

“Don’t what?” Selyse’s voice is even. “I know you barked at him when he brought Shireen home, and I know you slept with him when we first separated.”

Stannis doesn’t answer.

“We were never a happy couple, but we were together for a long time. I know what you look like when you want something. I know what you look like when you think you’ve lost it. And more than either of those, I know what you look like when you lost it because of your own failing.”

“I don’t want your pity.”

“That’s good, because you aren’t getting any.”

“What do you want, Selyse?” Stannis asks, sounding defeated.

“A good home for my daughter. I love Shireen, and if I thought I could provide for her, I would take her in a heartbeat. But I can’t. Melisandre and the others… Shireen would be better off here. So you have to raise her, and you can’t do that on your own.”

Davos tries to imagine what Stannis’ face is doing and fails.

“Either let him be your friend who helps you with her or love him enough to keep him at your side. Or dismiss him entirely, I suppose, though that would be a terrible idea and you're too smart to make a decision that bad. But you do have to pick one, Stannis. Don't hurt our daughter because you're upset.”

The silence that grows in answer is large enough for Davos to grab his folder, sneak back to the door, and escape without Stannis ever speaking.

xx

Friday is a different beast from the rest of the week. Stannis doesn’t give anyone a dressing down, but that could be because he doesn’t talk to anyone.

“What did you do?” Jon asks at one point when Stannis steps out of the office, possibly to harass some Greyjoys. “I’ve never heard this much silence, and I grew up in the North.”

Davos doesn’t respond to the joke.

Jon blows out a breath.

“We both know you hate using that keyboard and that your favorite one is in Stannis’ office because you do most of your work there. Normally that wouldn't be a problem. You'd just walk in and grab it, yet here you are, hunting and pecking on this one, in your cubicle, like you've never typed before. If you want to pretend everything’s fine, though-”

Davos hits the backspace key a little harder than necessary, and Jon sighs.

“Please don’t break the keyboard just because you’re in a bad mood. Sam’s already up to his ears in things Robert broke.”

“I don’t intend to break anything.”

“Have you told your face that?”

“Did you finish your survey of Bear Island?” Davos asks. “Last I heard, Stannis wanted information about the satellite offices, and he wants to start with that one.”

Jon curses and turns away sharply, leaving Davos to type in peace.

He doesn’t look up when Stannis returns.

xx

“I don’t like cowards.”

Startled, Davos nearly drops his tablet.

Across from him, Stannis is looking at him steadily. They’ve been working in his office for about three hours, at least two hours past the office closing. Other than a moment of hesitation in his stride as he led Davos into his office earlier, Stannis has been acting the same as he usually does: ordering Davos about, demanding Davos’ full attention, pushing him for his thoughts on proposals.

It almost feels convincing.

“I didn’t believe you did, sir,” Davos says slowly.

Stannis foxes his gaze on Davos; it isn’t entirely pleasant. “I don’t like playing games either. It’s a waste of time and beneath us.”

“Us?”

“I shouldn’t have left you.”

Davos’ mouth snaps shut.

Stannis’ gaze doesn’t falter. “I was ashamed that I broke my promise to Selyse, for all that our marriage was over in all but writing. I chose to hide from what I’d done and left you to carry the burden of my infidelity on your own when you had done nothing wrong. That was cowardly.”

Davos glances at Stannis’ hands where they’re laced together, white-knuckled, on the desk.

“That’s what I’ve told myself. I was ashamed that I failed my duty to my wife. But that, too, was cowardice.” He mouth twitches in disgust. “I wanted you, and having you was- I didn’t feel shame like I should have. You were what I wanted, and I was glad I had you. I hid from that as wekk.”

“Stannis-”

“You took care of my daughter,” Stannis continues over him. “When she was frightened and alone, she called you because she knew you would come for her, and you brought her home. You've always been good to her. She doesn't question your love for her, nor do I. She’s happier than I thought a child of mine could be, and that is your doing.”

Stannis doesn’t continue, and Davos swallows, uncertain where to go from here.

He doesn't have to think of a way forward; Stannis finds one himself.

“Selyse and I have signed the papers to end our marriage.”

Davos’ heart freezes in his throat. He knew about that already; Shireen had said as much.

It sounds different in Stannis’ voice. More definite.

“I don’t expect you to be interested in me as you were, and I apologize that fetching my daughter interrupted your time off. You may leave early next Friday-”

“And if I am?” Davos asks.

Stannis frowns, clearly not anticipating an interruption in his monologue. “What if you are what?”

Davos really did fall in love with the most frustrating man.

“It was a nice fantasy," he says slowly. "Getting you out of my system, or at least forgetting you for a while, they both seemed perfect. I’d just feel it more when I was alone again, though. My boys are old enough they don’t need to see me that often, and Marya has plenty of other friends to keep her company. The friends I have, I see here. I don’t need a longer weekend.”

Stannis goes still. It’s almost funny when he gets caught off-guard by honesty.

“I wish I’d lost interest,” Davos tells him. “It would have been fair, wouldn’t it? You pushed me away, so I should get to do the same. Just, you might even say.”

“Would have been?” Stannis echoes.

“Would have been, yeah. The problem is, I’m not built to be just, Stannis. I want what I want. I’m interested in what I’m interested in."

“You haven’t told me what that is yet.”

Another person would have gotten up or leaned across the desk before now. Stannis isn’t unaware of what Davos is offering.

He wouldn’t be Stannis if he didn’t insist on hearing Davos spell it out. 

“‘Who’ is more apt. You, obviously. For more than just a one-off,” he adds, just to be clear.

Stannis nods before he looks around with a frown. “We’re at work.”

“Is that reciprocation?”

“You know it is.”

“I suppose I do.”

They have another three pages to get through.

“Do we have to finish everything before I get to kiss you?” Davos asks despite knowing what the answer will be.

“We do.”

Stannis says it firmly.

If Davos worked at it, he could get Stannis to rethink his position on kissing before their job is finished for the day. Stannis doesn’t get firm with him except when he’s hiding something.

As he watches Stannis focus too hard on the paper in front of him, Davos decides he can survive delaying gratification for another hour.

xx

The hand Stannis has under Davos’ thigh is squeezing hard enough to leave bruises.

It’s hard to think about that when Stannis’ other hand is on Davos’ opposite hip, keeping Davos in place as Stannis fucks him slow and hard.

Davos’ own hands are clenched around Stannis’ shoulders. He's sure he’s never been fucked better than Stannis is doing now, and it feels so good it hurts.

Stannis’ breath is hot against Davos’ skin in between the hard kisses Stannis has been leaving across Davos’ chest and up his neck.

Distantly, Davos aches. He can’t find it in himself to care; the feeling of Stannis’ body against his after thinking he’d gotten all he’d get, the look of concentration on Stannis’ face as he finds exactly the right way to make Davos’ breath hitch, Davos’ fingers digging in as he tries to remember something that isn’t Stannis so he’ll last a little longer, will see him through.

Somewhere, there’s fear trying take hold of him, telling him that Stannis is going to leave again.

Last time, Stannis couldn’t fuck him fast enough. He kissed Davos the whole time, his mouth too busy too say anything.

This time, Stannis seems to determined to make it last until Davos begs him to let him come.

And he keeps saying Davos’ name.

He noses at Davos’ cheek, disconcertingly gentle when it feels like he’s trying to make Davos feel every fuck he might have had over the last year, and says, “Davos.”

He sucks a mark just below Davos’ jaw and says, “Davos.”

He takes his hand off Davos’ hip and closes his fist around him, working him roughly in a way Davos hadn’t realized he liked before Stannis brought him off the first time, until Davos can’t help but beg.

“Stannis- I’m so fucking- Please just-”

Stannis kisses Davos’ chest, and Davos comes.

His eyes fall shut, and as he collapses back into his bed, Stannis falls still above him.

There’s a moment of silence that starts to feel like a warning, but when Davos opens his eyes, Stannis looks at him and says, “Davos,” as he touches Davos’ belly.

If Davos were braver, he’d tell Stannis to hurry up and come- he wants to be held now, and he can’t get that the way they are now.

As if he understands, Stannis pulls out, strips off the condom, and wraps the hand he’d touched to Davos’ come around himself.

Davos watches, torn between memorizing Stannis’ expression and the sight of Stannis touching himself.

Kissing Stannis is an impulse, but it’s one Stannis leans into, kissing Davos harder as he gets closer.

“Come on,” Davos coaxes, his lips brushing Stannis’. “Come on, Stannis. You’re so close; I know you are. 

Stannis does a poor job of hiding his groan in a kiss when he comes.

He lays himself on top of Davos, sweaty and soon to be very sticky, and lets his head drop to Davos’ chest.

There are lines with Stannis and the sorts of touches he likes, but when Davos runs his fingers through the damp hair behind Stannis’ ear, the only response he gets is a soft sigh.

It isn’t the kind of holding Davos had in mind, but it’s still good.

“We should get cleaned up,” Davos says after a while. “If only because my landlady might get curious and I don’t really want her cooing at me.”

“Then you’ll come to my home in the future.”

It’s difficult for to label Stannis “cute”, but that’s how he looks with his brow furrowed and his hair a mess as he demands that Davos come over when they’re going to have sex.

“You have a teenage daughter,” Davos reminds him. 

That stops Stannis short. “We’ll figure something out,” he says after a moment.

Davos doesn’t doubt that.

“In the meantime, showers,” he reminds Stannis, who nods and shakily gets to his feet.

Davos’ apartment is small, so he lets himself wait in bed for a moment as Stannis goes exploring, in search of a shower.

 _He really does have an amazing ass,_ Davos thinks, watching Stannis hunt through the apartment, opening doors he thinks might lead to the bathroom.

“Davos, this room is tiny.”

Smiling at the disdain in Stannis’ voice, Davos rolls to his feet. “We can both fit in the shower if we try, though.”

Stannis grumbles something Davos doesn’t hear over the sight of Stannis kneeling on the floor next to the tub, trying to figure out Davos’ shower faucet.

It’s undignified and Stannis is going to hold this against him for years, but Davos can’t help it. He’s been wondering for so long…

The noise Stannis makes is undignified- one Davis hadn’t expected and has never heard before.

From the look on Stannis’ face, Davos won’t be hearing it again any time soon.

Stannis’ ass does fit perfectly into the palm of Davos’ hand, though, and now Davos knows that empirically.

“Get your shower working, Davos,” Stannis growls.

“You just have to lift this-” Davos leans forward, “-and turn this up.”

Water immediately pours out, and Stannis momentarily relaxes against him.

“This won’t affect work,” he says after a moment.

Davos kisses Stannis’ cheek, just to find out if he can. “I didn’t expect it to.”

“Shireen will insist on seeing you more often.”

Stannis says this to the running water, but he looks over at Davos when he finishes, unable not to look at judgment when it comes.

“I love Shireen; I’d be happy to see her more.”

“Then you’ll explain to her that I’m not going to fire you.”

“Gladly- after we shower.”

Stannis nods his approval. “After we shower.”

It ends up being more than a shower. Stannis is more sensitive than Davos had realized; Davos only meant to get Stannis a little flustered.

He can’t say he minds it when Stannis pushes him against the wall and presses against him, though. and the sound Stannis makes when Davos grabs his ass is even better when Davos kisses him through it.

There are papers to file, which Stannis will insist they do the moment they get into work, and Shireen will have to be told. The latter will be nice. The former will herald the kind of joking only men who interned with the Night’s Watch could come up with.

At least now Davos will be able to pull Stannis aside after their morning run and kiss him until he complains.

Or they fuck on the track, but Davos isn’t hanging his hopes on that.


End file.
